Schools drop levels

[politically incorrect]

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/NEWS01/70906019


Only Petal kept all schools at Level 5. Big news is Hattiesburg High has dropped to Level 2, or underperforming. Purvis also dropped to Level 3.

[eyescene]

Didn't say anything about Sumrall.

[Kitty]

Lamar County:

Level 5: Oak Grove Upper Elementary; Oak Grove Middle; Oak Grove High; Sumrall Elementary
Level 4: Oak Grove Lower Elementary; Purvis Elementary; Sumrall Middle/High
Level 3: Baxterville School; Purvis Middle; Purvis High

Database link (http://64.246.209.206/phpDI/AccreditationSearch.php)

[Mike]

Interestingly, two coast schools - Long Beach & Pass Christian - also achieved 100% level 5 accreditation rating. Both having lost facilities, as in WHOLE SCHOOLS.

[Oni Zen]

With the changes being implemented by the MS Dept. of Education, it will be a MIRACLE if there are ANY Level 5 schools this time next year.

And I do not use the word "miracle" lightly.

Special Education students will now count toward schools' scores.

The English Multiple Choice Test (currently the test with the lowest scores statewide) has been rewritten to become MORE RIGOROUS.

On top of that, the MS Dept. of Education will not release the new sample test items until NOVEMBER, which will give teachers only a few months to prepare students (sorry teachers who teach English on a block schedule--you're really sunk!)

[fuzzis]

On top of that, the MS Dept. of Education will not release the new sample test items until NOVEMBER, which will give teachers only a few months to prepare students (sorry teachers who teach English on a block schedule--you're really sunk!)

I have a serious problem with this line of thinking. Theoretically, if you're teaching your objectives and benchmarks, then why do you *need* a sample test to prepare for a test?

[Oni Zen]

I have a serious problem with this line of thinking. Theoretically, if you're teaching your objectives and benchmarks, then why do you *need* a sample test to prepare for a test?

I guess you'd need experience teaching this particular test to fully comprehend the ridiculousness of it all. To this day, even the Department of Education representatives can not vocalize the difference between score 2, 3, and 4 papers on the English writing test. The makeup of the Multiple Choice Test has undergone extensive changes (in layout, as well as rigor and tested items).

English is not as simple as teaching and practicing a set formula.

Teaching 101 states that you determine what to test students on, then prepare them for that. How do you prepare students for a revised test that teachers haven't even seen yet? On top of that, much in the way of low test scores can be attributed to the fact that students are inexperienced with the testing format, not simply that they do not know the tested items.

I think your inclusion of "theoretically" was spot on.

[fuzzis]

I guess you'd need experience teaching this particular test to fully comprehend the ridiculousness of it all. To this day, even the Department of Education representatives can not vocalize the difference between score 2, 3, and 4 papers on the English writing test. The makeup of the Multiple Choice Test has undergone extensive changes (in layout, as well as rigor and tested items).

English is not as simple as teaching and practicing a set formula.

Teaching 101 states that you determine what to test students on, then prepare them for that. How do you prepare students for a revised test that teachers haven't even seen yet? On top of that, much in the way of low test scores can be attributed to the fact that students are inexperienced with the testing format, not simply that they do not know the tested items.

I think your inclusion of "theoretically" was spot on.

Former English teacher here. :laugh:

And I'll say again that if you're teaching the *state* framework, which can be different than the district curriculum, then it's already been determined what students will be tested on. Has the DOE prioritized the standards? Does the framework indicate which are enduring or essential standards?

I still have a problem with the line of thinking that says you have to know what the test is in order to have students be successful on it. That's a very narrow conception of what it means to both teach and learn. If we teach students to be critical thinkers while we're teaching them those essential standards as well as some test taking skills, then you're not teaching to the test.

[Oni Zen]

Former English teacher here. :laugh:.

Have you, or have you not, been responsible for students taking this test?



And I'll say again that if you're teaching the *state* framework, which can be different than the district curriculum, then it's already been determined what students will be tested on. Has the DOE prioritized the standards? Does the framework indicate which are enduring or essential standards?

The DOE framework has been woefully general on English standards (in regard to state testing) in the past. This is something they are now beginning to address. Talk to a 10th grade English teacher today and watch as they throw their hands in desperation to state test expectations and accountability.

I still have a problem with the line of thinking that says you have to know what the test is in order to have students be successful on it. That's a very narrow conception of what it means to both teach and learn. If we teach students to be critical thinkers while we're teaching them those essential standards as well as some test taking skills, then you're not teaching to the test.

Well, that's an excellent philosophy and one I agree with wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, that's not the world in which we live. Test scores are the name of the game now and mean everything.

The DOE isn't in the business of creating critical thinkers. They're in the business of creating students who do well on particular tests. And as long as the stakes based on that fact are so high, then the DOE needs to do a much better job of relaying the rules of the game for everyone.

From the data I've seen, just about all schools in south MS lost ground this year. Some of the biggest losers weren't even the schools that dropped in rankings (for instance, Petal had one of the biggest slips of any school), while FCAHS and Purvis (schools which dropped a rank) had one of the smaller decreases).

Why are all schools having trouble with this English test?

[queenrey]

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/NEWS01/70906019


Only Petal kept all schools at Level 5. Big news is Hattiesburg High has dropped to Level 2, or underperforming. Purvis also dropped to Level 3.
my kids attended hattiesburg schools for a while. this is exactly why they are being home schooled now. they do this program called DI and what it basically is is that they pass the child no matter if they pass or not. i had one child that was having extreme trouble in math. we worked and worked with her at home got extra home work the whole 9 yards and she just could not get the math. so what did they do? they passed her to the 5th grade and still made her take 4th grade math. now let me explain. i don't mean that she was taking 4th grade math in the 5th grade oh no. i mean she was taking both 4th and 5th grade math at the same time. they were expecting her to do the 5th grade math when she couldn't even get the 4th grade math. it is a rediculious program that does nothing but cause problems. now i'm just like any other parent. i don't want my children to fail. BUT IF THEY CAN'T GET IT IN THE 4TH GRADE WHAT MAKES THEM THINK THEY WILL GET THE 5TH GRADE WORK????? also this being said their state tests are also off. during this time i went to pick my children up from school while they were state testing. i was told that my boys were on the way to the office but that my girl would be a few min because she was taking state tests. now when questioned why they called her in her 4th grade math class and not in her regular class (where she should have been taking state tests) they advise that she took the state test on 4th grade level not 5th. i have a big problem with this. if they passed her to 5th grade she should have been tested on 5th grade level. the state tests are completely off when they do this. it is sad that children's education has to be in a way forged just to where a school can make their numbers and tests grades look better

[Oni Zen]

now when questioned why they called her in her 4th grade math class and not in her regular class (where she should have been taking state tests) they advise that she took the state test on 4th grade level not 5th. i have a big problem with this. if they passed her to 5th grade she should have been tested on 5th grade level. the state tests are completely off when they do this. it is sad that children's education has to be in a way forged just to where a school can make their numbers and tests grades look better

I wonder if her 4th grade year was the "benchmark year" (year in which state tests determine if she moves on to middle school or not) and that she was having to retake them after failing them the previous year. That's the only reason I can imagine regarding your scenario.

By the way, your situation is not rare. I have seen many school districts in other counties at the high school level who will advance students in course levels after failing the previous ones, simply doubling them up the next year.